The aircrew of a C-17 transport assigned to the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, on March 19 completed the first improved container delivery system, or ICDS, airdrop using new three-dimensional weather technology that improves delivery accuracy. “We’ve done ICDS drops in the last year but not as accurate as [this] drop,” said Maj. William Friar, instructor aircraft commander with Elmendorf’s 353rd Combat Training Squadron. The airdrop occurred over the remote location of Tin City, Alaska. Such a scenario is useful for training to resupply combat troops in hard-to-access locations in Afghanistan, said wing officials. The C-17 crew was to deliver their load of containers within 135 yards of the target after being dropped from an altitude of 5,100 feet. Earlier this month, the Air Force went operational with a new low-altitude airdrop method for C-130 transports. (Elmendorf report by A1C Christopher Gross)
The Space Force should take bold, decisive steps—and soon—to develop the capabilities and architecture needed to support more flexible, dynamic operations in orbit and counter Chinese aggression and technological progress, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
